Apparatus, method and system to remove contaminates from contaminated fluids using solar energy

ABSTRACT

An apparatus, system and method to remove purified vapor from a contaminated fluid using solar energy is disclosed. The apparatus comprises an inlet wherein contaminated fluid flows in the apparatus through the inlet; at least two outlets wherein a first outlet exits purified vapor and a second outlet wherein contaminated fluid with a portion removed as purified vapor exits the apparatus; an energy source that causes the contaminated fluid to heat to a temperature wherein at least a portion of the contaminated fluid is converted to purified vapor; at least two different flow paths from at least one inlet to the first outlet and second outlet, the first and second flow paths flow through at least a portion of the apparatus wherein differences causes the lighter purified vapor to take a different path than the contaminated fluid exiting the second outlet.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/729,639 filed Oct. 10, 2017, entitled “An Apparatus and Method toRemove Contaminates From a Fluid,” which issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,858,267 and is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/724,803 filed May 28, 2015, entitled “An Apparatus and Method toRemove Contaminates From a Fluid,” which issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,858,267 which claims priority and the benefit of under 35 U.S.C §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/003,874 filed May 28,2014, the disclosures of all three applications are hereby incorporatedby reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to devices and methods forremoving contaminates from a fluid. More particularly, the presentdisclosure relates to devices and methods for using vapor generation topurify a fluid from contaminates in the fluid.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart, which may be associated with embodiments of the present invention.This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader withinformation to facilitate a better understanding of particulartechniques of the present invention. Accordingly, these statements areto be read in this light, and not necessarily as admissions of priorart.

Water, energy and industrial activity have a symbiotic relationship.Energy is needed to move water to people, businesses and industry tooperate. Conversely, water, is necessary to produce energy and runbusiness and industry.

A significant factor that determines the ultimate volume of water apower plant and some industrial plant needs is the cooling system. Mostconventional power plants use either a “once-through” system or acooling “tower.” A once-through system pulls water from a body of watersuch as, an aquifer, a river or a lake. The system cycles the waterthrough the power plant to help generate electricity and then dischargesit back into the environment. A tower recirculates the water instead ofdischarging it, but a tower uses significantly more water because thewater ends up being lost through evaporation, whereas the once-throughsystem returns the water to the river or lake.

Steam from water or vapor from fluids is used for many purposesincluding heating, cooling and to power many devices including steamturbines to produce electricity. One problem with using fluids is thatimpurities in the fluids, usually salt in water, causes corrosion,scaling and other issues. This corrosion often requires the use of veryexpensive material that is highly corrosion resistant. In addition,excessive corrosion requires costly replacement of parts and additionallabor charges increasing the cost of utilizing steam. Contaminates influids will raise the boiling temperature of the fluids which requiresmore energy to produce the steam, decreasing the efficiency of steamproduction and increasing costs. One solution is to use fresh water withlow amounts of contaminates. The problem with fresh water is that freshwater is needed for agricultural and human consumption. In certainlocations, there is not enough fresh water to satisfy human andagricultural consumption which can make the use of fresh water for steamgeneration problematic and expensive. The problem with removingcontaminates from fluids is the equipment and processes required arevery expensive because of the extensive amount of equipment needed andthe amount of energy required to utilize the equipment. Accordingly,there is a need for apparatuses and methods to efficiently and costeffectively remove contaminates from liquids during steam generation.

Another issue with using water with impurities is scaling. Scaling iswhen contaminates such as salt precipitates out of a fluid and attachesto equipment. Too much scaling can cause a plant or equipment to fail.Scaling becomes more prevalent as temperature increases and contaminatesincrease. For this reason, many plants that require water do not usealternatives to fresh water such as, salt water as any significantincrease in heat or salinity causes scaling issues.

Increased population growth and increased industrialization is causingcertain geographic regions to exhaust renewable fresh water. To solvethis problem methods and devices have been created to purifycontaminated water to create fresh water for industrial, agriculturaland human consumption. Currently, the most effective process utilizesreverse osmosis and membrane technology to remove contaminates andcreates purified fresh water. The amount of equipment and energyrequired makes this technology costly to build and to operate. The ideaof using steam generation to produce purified water is not novel. Thereare devices that can use directed energy to remove purified steam fromcontaminated fluids such as, water. Others have proposed combining steamgeneration for power and other uses to purify water. The problem hasbeen the additional costs for additional equipment and the loss ofefficiency has made these processes uneconomical. Accordingly, there isa need to maximize the efficiency of existing technology to efficientlyand economically remove contaminates from contaminated water. Thisinvention satisfies that need.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, an apparatus is disclosed. In this embodiment, theapparatus comprises: an inlet wherein contaminated fluid flows in theapparatus through the inlet; at least two outlets wherein a first outletexits purified vapor and a second outlet wherein contaminated fluid witha portion removed as purified vapor exits the apparatus; an energysource that causes the contaminated fluid to heat to a temperaturewherein a portion of the contaminated fluid is converted to purifiedvapor; at least two different flow paths connecting the inlet to thesecond outlet. The first and second flow paths flow through at least aportion of the apparatus wherein gravity differences causes the lighterpurified vapor to take a different path than the heavier contaminatedfluid with the purified vapor exiting the first outlet and thecontaminated fluid stream existing the second outlet.

In a second embodiment, a method is disclosed. In this embodiment, themethod to purify contaminated fluid comprises: obtaining an apparatuswith at least one inlet and at least two outlets connected to an energysource that can concentrate energy on the contaminated fluid; using theenergy source on the contaminated fluid inside the apparatus to cause atleast a portion of the contaminated water to change into a purifiedvapor state inside the apparatus; using at least two flow paths insidethe apparatus wherein gravity separates at least a portion of theheavier contaminated fluid from the lighter purified vapor state;flowing the purified vapor state through the first outlet and flowingthe contaminated fluid after a portion of fluid has been removed as apurified vapor state through the second outlet of the apparatus.

The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize each potentialembodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other advantages of the present technique may becomeapparent upon reading the following detailed description and uponreference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art heat exchanger that is typically used toconvert water into steam;

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of this invention wherein baffles andopenings are used to create multiple flow paths to separate contaminatedfluid from purified vapor;

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of this invention wherein slantedbaffles and openings are used to create multiple flow paths to separatecontaminated fluid from purified vapor;

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of this invention wherein half tubesthat can be placed inside a heat exchanger have a conical shapecondensation plate and the condensation plate has aligned holes in themiddle and side to allow contaminated fluids and purified vapor to haveseparate flow paths respectively;

FIG. 5 is a cross section showing possible flow paths for the conicalshape condensation plate in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing perforated tubing with screens to createa plurality of flow paths;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a method embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a SCADA control system embodiment of thisinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, this invention quickly and efficiently separatespurified vapor usually steam from a fluid mixture containingcontaminates such as, a salt water mixture. Other examples includecontaminated water from agricultural, industrial, municipal andindividual waste water usage.

FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art heat exchanger that is typically used insteam generation. The heat exchanger 1 has a series of plates 2. Coldwater 3 is inserted through an inlet 4 and runs through a series ofplates 2 before exiting an outlet 5 after receiving heat energy fromsteam or hot air 6 that is inserted through an inlet 7 and exits theoutlet 8. U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0061493 A1 disclosesconventional heat exchangers and heat exchangers used in waterpurification systems. U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0061493 A1 ishereby incorporated by reference.

In the past costly equipment that wasted much of the energy of the steamwas utilized in a series of heat exchanger and flash tanks as shown inFIG. 2 of U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0061493. FIG. 1 of U.S.Patent Application No. 2005/0061493 shows that a vapor compressionsevaporator is used outside of the heat exchanger to mix the feed andseparate out concentrated product from distilled water using steamgenerated by a jet ejector. In contrast to U.S. Patent Application No.2005/0061493, in an embodiment, this invention uses specificallyengineered multiple flow paths inside an apparatus such as, a heatexchanger to quickly and efficiently use gravity differences in theapparatus to separate the purified vapor from the initial contaminatedfluid. In another embodiment, a series of small baffles and openings areengineered inside the tubing to efficiently separate the salt water andpurified steam. The baffles create alternative flow patterns whereby thelighter and faster moving steam is separated naturally from thecontaminated fluid by gravity differences. In a third embodiment,interior sections of the heat exchangers are designed to create flashchambers, distillation columns, and condensation vessels.

This apparatus enables a process for the efficient separation of a vaporvolatile component from a non-volatile component in a mixture. In somecases, the non-volatile component comprises a salt or a sugar and thevolatile component comprises water.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an embodiment using baffles and smallopenings to create alternative flow paths. The heat exchanger 1 in thisfigure has been modified from the prior art heat exchanger in FIG. 1.Similar elements in FIG. 1 have been giving the same reference numeralsin FIG. 2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 an additional outlet 20 andflow paths 21 has been created for the contaminated fluid with a portionof the fluid removed as purified fluid 22 as vapor. Separate flow pathsare created for the remnant contaminated fluid 23 removed from the vaporstream 22, through the use of aligned holes 28 in baffles 27. Thebaffles 27 with the aligned holes 28 can be placed in the plates ortubes of a standard heat exchanger. In this embodiment, gravity causesthe lighter purified vapor to rise and the heavier contaminated fluid tofall as shown in the arrows. Additional pumps 24 and drains 25 may beutilized to quickly remove the contaminated fluid from the purifiedfluid, as discussed below.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an embodiment using slanted baffles 30 andsmall openings 31 to create alternative flow paths. The heat exchanger 3in this figure has been modified from the prior art heat exchanger inFIG. 1. Similar elements in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 have been giving the samereference numerals in FIG. 3. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, thebaffles are slanted 30. The slanted baffles 30 inside the heat exchanger1 create areas in which purified vapor can accumulate above the smallopenings 31. These areas then become stages in a multi-stagedistillation system.

A multi-stage flash distillation (“MSF”) is typically a waterdesalination process that distills sea water by flashing a portion ofthe water into steam in multiple stages of what are essentiallycounter-current heat exchangers. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, eachslanted baffle 30 acts as a separate concurrent heat exchanger wherepurified steam rises and contaminated fluids are removed as heaviercontaminated fluids via the small openings 31. FIG. 3 shows in eachplate section three separate flash chambers above the small openings 31in a MSF system engineered inside a heat exchanger. In this embodimenteach slanted baffle is a stage in the MSF process. Additional flow pathssuch as, tubing can be inserted to each slanted baffle stage to removethe purified vapor and remove the contaminated fluid.

Similar to FIG. 2, separate flow paths are created for the purifiedvapor 22. The purified vapor travels between the slanted baffles. Thecontaminated fluid is removed through the use of aligned holes in theslanted baffles. The baffles with the aligned holes can be placed in theplates or tubes of a standard heat exchanger.

The creation of sections of condensation and separate flow paths insidea heat exchanger avoids the need for additional equipment and lessenergy is used to create the steam to power traditional steamdistillation processes. This results in reduced capital costs andreduced waste energy or energy costs in purifying fluids.

In one embodiment, at least some of the vapor stream is used to createadditional vapor from the feed or contaminated stream by feeding orrecycling the purified vapor stream through the heat exchanger withoutany multiple flow paths. Once the vapor stream is fully separated thevapor is purified water and thus there is no need to purify or separatethe fluid stream any further. However, in one embodiment, the vapor maybe separated into multiple streams by condensing or removing lowertemperature distilled water from the vapor so the streams can be usedmore efficiently to transfer their heat energy to the heat exchanger orother processes, as needed. In this embodiment, the heat of condensationprovides the heat of evaporation to the feed or contaminated streaminside the heat exchanger. The separation may be done throughdistillation columns or a plurality of flow paths using the densitydifferences. In another embodiment, the condensing, evaporating andrecycling steps are all done inside the heat exchanger. This condensing,evaporating and recycling of purified vapor can be part of theseparation processes which can be done inside the heat exchange tofurther reduce capital costs and further reduce waste heat or kineticenergy of the fluids. For example, vertical runs of the heat exchangercan be engineered to have multiple outlets to serve as a distillationcolumn removing vapor from condensed water.

FIG. 4 shows a conical half tube embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4 aconical half tube 40 has aligned holes 41 and an opening in the middle42. Multiple flow paths are created for the lighter vapor to rise 43through the middle and the aligned holes and a flow path down 44 iscreated along the conical tube to allow the heavier containment fluid toflow unobstructed.

FIG. 5 is a cross section showing possible flow paths for the conicalshape condensation plate 40 in FIG. 4. The flow paths for thecontaminated fluid are shown as arrows 51 and the flow paths for thepurified vapor are shown as arrows 53. This conical shape condensationplate can be engineered to be installed in most heat exchangers. A basepipe with the condensation plate inside can also be inserted in a heatexchanger.

In one embodiment, a combination of designs can be utilized to createmultiple flow paths for the contaminated fluid and in some embodiments,multiple flow paths for the purified vapor. Persons skilled in the art,with the benefit of the disclosures herein, may choose the design orcombination of designs best suited for the needs of the operator.

Pressure differences using pumps and other devices can further improvethe apparatus and process. In this embodiment, pressure and gravitydifferences push the purified vapor upwards and cause the contaminatedfluid to drop. In a more preferred embodiment, the baffles, screens andopenings can be engineered to create interconnected compartments andeach compartment will work as a flash distillation chamber in a MSF asdiscussed above. Finally, drains can be placed on the bottom to removeany heavy sediments and concentrated contaminated fluids. These drainscan include valves or controlled openings to selectively remove theheavier fluids because of the increased contaminates.

In a preferred embodiment the amount of vapor separated is controlled toallow a preferred amount of purified vapor produced while minimizing theamount of energy loss from the contaminated fluid. This can beaccomplished using three methods. First, the baffles can be adjusted toallow the water more time inside the apparatus which will allow thewater to absorb more heat energy and allow a larger percentage of thecontaminated fluid to be converted into purified vapor. Second, heatedcontaminated fluids can be recycled through the apparatus causingadditional steam to be extracted from the water. Third, at least onepath that is engineered to remove the contaminated fluids can be closedwhich will cause additional time in the heat exchanger resulting in moreproduced purified vapor. Valves, shunts, screens and any combinationsthereof can be used to cause at least one path to be closed. Additionaldevices known to persons skilled in the art can be used.

A few selected openings, baffles, shunts, screens and combinationsthereof can be engineered to create a series of connected sections andoperate as a series of multiple flash distillation or MSF systems insidethe heat exchanger. Each section will further purify the fluids asgravity causes the liquids with contaminates to separate and the lightervapor moves to the next section with less contaminates. Lowering thepressure by attaching a pump on the outlet on the top of the heatexchanger can further increase the efficiency by causing the purifiedvapor to quickly exit the heat exchanger and lowering the boiling pointof the fluid. In addition, pumping the contaminated fluid out canquickly remove the contaminated fluid with higher contamination levels.In the past efforts have focused on removing as much water as possible.Whereas, this inventive method works by quickly removing the steam fromthe contaminated water and allowing higher concentrations ofcontaminated water to be quickly removed once the levels become too highto no longer be efficient.

In a preferred embodiment, the process quickly takes the initial vaporproduced and quickly removes the contaminated fluid such as, salt water.This improves efficiency because as contaminates content increases inthe contaminated fluid so does the boiling point. The preferred processis to produce enough purified vapor to meet the required needs whileminimizing the amount of energy the process takes. The higher boilingpoint of contaminated fluids with higher concentration of contaminatesrequires more energy which reduces the efficiency. In addition, the saltwater requires more corrosion resistant material which increases thecost of any apparatuses necessary to utilize this invention.Accordingly, in this embodiment, the contaminated water is quicklyremoved from the purified steam. Therefore, minimal energy is wasted onthe contaminated water and this also minimizes the additional expense ofhaving too much of the material be highly corrosion resistant toimpurities in the water. In situations wherein, purified water is notrequired, this invention can be used to prevent corrosion on theequipment used to produce steam. This will make the steam productionmore economical by reducing wasted energy on heating contaminates whilealso reducing the need for corrosion resistant materials.

Scaling:

As discussed previously, scaling is a major issue. In variousembodiments, scaling can be controlled or minimized. In one embodiment,use of material that is resistant to scaling is used. U.S. PatentApplication No. 2012/0118722A1 discloses many materials that are scaleresistant. U.S. Patent Application No. 2012/0118722A1 is herebyincorporated by reference. In addition, nanoparticles that are resistantto scaling can be attached or sprayed on the equipment to preventscaling.

In one embodiment, as discussed above and below, corrosion and scalingcan be reduced using hydrophobic coating. For example, hydrophobiccoating can be made from a nanoscopic surface layer that repels water,which is referred to as super hydrophic coating. Hydrophobic coating canbe made from many different materials. The coating can be selected formthe group consisting of Manganese oxide polystyrene (MnO2/PS)nanocomposite, Zinc oxide polystyrene (Zone/PS) nanocomposite,Precipitated calcium carbonate, Carbon nanotube structures, Silicananocoating, and any combination thereof. Advances in three-dimensional(“3-D”) printing technology can print a thin layer of hydrophobiccoating on the equipment. Hydrophobic coating can be expensive and timeconsuming so persons skilled in the art would preferably only performhydrophobic coating on equipment likely to suffer from corrosion andscaling such as, equipment in contact with high concentrations ofimpurities, for example, salt water. Using the multiple flow pathsembodiments of the invention, it would be preferable to coat thecontaminated water paths with hydrophic coatings but not the purifiedwater paths as the purified water would cause little or no corrosionand/or scaling.

A 3-D Printer can be used to apply a thin layer of corrosion resistantmaterial or paint on the interior of equipment subject to highconcentrations of impurities, for example, salt water. Three-dimensionalprinting can also help with manufacturing the multiple flow paths insideequipment. In 3-D printing, additive processes are used, in whichsuccessive layers of material are laid down under computer control.These objects can be of almost any shape or geometry, and are producedfrom a 3-D model or other electronic data source. A 3-D printer is atype of industrial robot allowing manufacturing of complex design.

An additional embodiment of this invention, addresses the scaling issueby quickly removing the contaminated water. First, the purified vapor isquickly removed from the contaminated fluid by separate unobstructedflow paths. Pumps can be deployed to quickly extract the purified vaporfrom the contaminated fluid. The pumps can further create low pressurewhich will lower the boiling point and thus reduce the scaling issue aswell as increase efficiency of the process. The advantages of lowerpressure are further discussed below.

A third embodiment, requires multiple flow paths providing purifiedvapor and contaminated water several flow paths respectively minimizingresistance. This embodiment also has an advantage of if one flow pathbecomes blocked with contaminates or scaling, the process can continuewith the alternative flow paths. One option is to create a maze design,as discussed below.

In a fourth embodiment, the concentration of salts and othercontaminates are controlled so that the contaminated fluid is removedbefore the concentration gets too high and scaling becomes a majorissue. This can be accomplished by attaching pumps at the contaminatedfluid outlet to quickly remove contaminates. Furthermore, additionaldrains can be placed in the apparatus to quickly remove heaviercontaminated fluids with higher concentrations. In this embodiment,synergistic benefits include less scaling, less corrosion and lessenergy needed to heat higher concentrations of contaminated fluids. Aperson skilled in the art can use the apparatus disclose herein toreduce scaling and reduce corrosion as separate and distinct benefits.

In a fifth embodiment, purified fluid or fluids with lower levels ofcontaminates is run through the apparatus to dissolve contaminates andremove the scaling. The purified fluid or fluids with lower contaminatescan be run intermittently on a schedule or as necessary, to removescaling.

Maze Design:

In one embodiment, purified vapor is extracted and separated by use of amaze design. This design incorporates a maze design to constraincontaminated fluids while letting the lighter vapor pass through withoutinterrupting production. In a preferred embodiment, a screen contains aseries of compartments along a selectively perforated base pipe insidethe screen that allows alternative path flows.

In an even more preferred embodiment, each compartment contains aprimary screen, outer housing, flow baffles, and a secondary screen.This embodiment, create numerous or at least three or moreinterconnected alternative flow paths.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the maze design embodiment. This figureshows a perforated pipe 60 with at least one screen 61. This createsthree separate flow paths. The three paths are inside the perforatedpipe 62, inside the screen but outside the perforated pipe 63 andoutside the screen but inside the apparatus 64 such as, heat exchanger.Additional baffles screens and pipes may be added as necessary toincrease flow and increase flow paths. The proposed flow paths for thepurified vapor is shown as arrow 65 and for the contaminated fluid asarrow 66 in FIG. 6.

Fluids and vapor flow into the primary screen and then are redistributedby the flow baffles. The vapor, which now flows more uniformly, travelsthrough the secondary screen and into the perforated base pipe where itcommingles with produced vapor from other compartments. The increasedresistance from the screens and flow baffles will allow gravity toseparate the heavier contaminated fluid from the lighter vapor. Anadditional benefit of the maze design is if one path gets obstructedwith contaminates, the fluid and vapor flow is then diverted to theadjacent undamaged-screen compartments. Persons skilled in the art willuse fluid flow dynamics, to preferably engineer the maze design toachieve the greatest efficiency based on various variables. Thesevariables include fluid type, type and amount of contaminates, energysource and costs, fluid loading, thermodynamics, amount of desired fluidflow and desired purified vapor production among other factors known topersons skilled in the art.

Low-Temperature Thermal Desalination:

Another embodiment is to use pressure gradients in the apparatus tocreate additional efficiencies. Low-temperature thermal desalination(“LTTD”) takes advantage of water boiling at low pressures. In oneembodiment, vacuum pumps create a low-pressure, lower temperatureenvironment in which water boils at a temperature gradient of as low as1-2° C., typically 8-10° C. and as much as 20° C. or more between twovolumes of water. This cold water is pumped through coils to condensethe water vapor. The resulting condensate is purified water. In thisembodiment cold water will be pumped through the vapor to furthercondense and purify the water vapor. In a preferred embodiment the LTTDcan be combined with the standard heat exchanger modified with thisclaimed invention to create additional efficiencies. The LTTD can beengineered inside or outside the heat exchanger. In this embodiment,purified water vapor is created at temperatures less than 100° C., morepreferably less than 90° C. and even more preferably less than 80° C.and most preferably less than 70° C. In this embodiment, the pumpscreate a low-pressure area inside the heat exchanger of less than 1 bar,more preferably less than 0.9 bar, even more preferably less than 0.8bar and most preferably less than 0.7 bar.

In one embodiment, periodic colder water of at least 1 Celsius and lessthan 20 Celsius can be used to create a temperature gradient. In oneembodiment, cold or room temperature water would be periodically pumpedthrough the system. A series of apparatuses or heat exchangers describedabove could be used.

When a heat exchanger is not needed, lower temperature water would thenbe sent through the system to keep the purification ongoing despite theheat exchanger not being needed. A computer control, as disclosed below,would determine the optimum fluid streams and temperature to get themost efficient purification based on temperature differences andcontamination levels. Valves can control the water streams runningthrough the heat exchangers to get the most beneficent thermaldesalination by combining different streams of fluid or watertemperature. This process would be most efficient for industrialprocesses that require cooling as the cooling water can be used tocreate at least part of the heat energy for the fluid purificationprocess. Some power plants, such as, nuclear power require large coolingtowers to reduce the water temperature. This presents an opportunity touse the heat energy released from cooling the water using thepurification process described above. In one embodiment, the coolingtower can be retrofitted or engineered to have at least one or aplurality of heat exchangers that uses the heat energy of water todistill water by vaporizing the water. Condensation can also be used toimprove the efficiency of the water purification process. In thisembodiment, additional flow paths would be created to remove purecondensation throughout the process. Furthermore, air or water flowingthrough the process, either directly or indirectly can be adjusted tomaximize water condensation.

Control Panel:

In one embodiment, a control system is provided with the apparatus toobtain favorable operation and performance of the apparatus. Factors tobe considered for favorable operation of the apparatus and systeminclude, but are not limited to: energy costs, amount, cost and qualityof fresh water and contaminated fluid available, water demand andconsumption, amount of cooling or heating needed by the water,fluctuations in water and energy demands, amount of excess heat, coolingor energy available, design of the equipment, operational conditions ofthe equipment, water temperatures of a plurality of fluid streams, anddifferences between the streams of water.

FIG. 8 further shows a schematic of a water purification apparatus andsystem 400 including a control center 401. In one embodiment, thecontrols can be standard manual or even automated controls. However, thepurification system can achieve even greater efficiencies and improvedperformance by using more advanced control systems, which may include asignal capture and data acquisition (“SCADA”) system 402. SCADA is alsoan acronym for supervisory control and data acquisition, a computersystem for gathering and analyzing real time data. SCADA systems areused to monitor and control a plant or equipment in industries such astelecommunications, water and waste control, energy, oil and gasrefining and transportation. A SCADA system gathers information, such assensors or gauges, transfers the information back to a central site,alerting central site of the information, carrying out necessaryanalysis and control, such as determining if the changes areadvantageous or necessary, and displaying the information in a logicaland organized fashion. SCADA systems can be relatively simple, such asone that monitors environmental conditions of a small building, orcomplex, such as a system that monitors all the activity in a nuclearpower plant or the activity of a municipal water system. In addition,recent improvements in computer power and software configurations allowsentire systems to be operated in real time with or without humaninteraction. The real-time capabilities allow the control system to makedecisions based on multiple factors and operate the water purificationsystem favorable with little or no operator interaction.

Persons skilled in the art, with the benefit of the disclosure herein,would recognize similar monitoring and/or control systems that can beoperatively connected therewith the disclosed apparatus and which maythus be used in conjunction with the overall operation of the system400. The SCADA control system 402 which is shown as a computer 421 witha display panel 403, keyboard 404, and wireless router 405, may includeany manner of industrial control systems or other computer controlsystems that monitor and control operation of the system. In oneembodiment, the SCADA system 402 may be configured to provide monitoringand autonomous operation of the system 400.

The SCADA controlled system 402 may be interfaced from any location onthe apparatus, such as from an interface terminal 406. The interfaceterminal can include, cellular or satellite communication equipment, awired or wireless router, servers or traditional wired connections, andany combinations thereof. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, a sensor407 is connected to the interface terminal 406. In an embodiment, theSCADA system including a portion or all the interface equipment andcontrols can be on an operations section of the apparatus. Additionally,alternatively or as a backup, the SCADA controlled system 402 may beinterfaced remotely, such as via an internet connection that is externalto the apparatus. A usable internet interface may include a viewer orother comparable display device, whereby the viewer may displayreal-time system performance data. In other embodiments, the SCADAsystem 402 may be able to transfer data to spreadsheet software, such asMicrosoft Excel. The data may be related to temperature, salinity,excess heat or cooling needs, excess energy or co-generations fromindustrial processes, pressure, flow rate, fluid levels, and/or othersimilar operational characteristics of the system 400.

The operations of the system 400 may utilize many indicators or sensors,such as cameras including infrared cameras, ultrasonic sensors, sightglasses, liquid floats, temperature gauges or thermocouples, pressuretransducers, etc. In addition, the system 400 may include variousmeters, recorders, and other monitoring devices, as would be apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art. Sensors 407, 408, 409, 410 411, and412 are shown in FIG. 8. These sensors, shown in FIG. 8, are for thefollowing, initial feed stream 404, feed stream 442 before entering theheat exchanger 416, first purified vapor exit stream 473, secondpurified vapor exit stream 474, first contaminated fluid output 470,second contaminated fluid output 471, respectively shown as 408, 409,410, 411, 412 and 407. These devices may be utilized to measure andrecord data, such as the quantity and/or quality of the intake fluids,the liquid phase(s) in the apparatus, and the vapor or water produced bythe system 400.

The SCADA control system 402 may provide an operator or control systemwith real-time information regarding the performance of the apparatus400. It should be understood that any components, sensors, etc. of theSCADA system 400 may be interconnected with any other components orsub-components of the apparatus or system 400. As such, the SCADA system402 can enable on-site and/or remote control of the apparatus 400, andin an embodiment, the SCADA system 402 can be configured to operatewithout human intervention, such as through automatic actuation of thesystem components responsive certain measurements and/or conditionsand/or use of passive emergency systems. In another embodiment, thesystem can operate in real-time wherein a plurality of factors or allrelevant factors are instantaneously or nearly instantaneouslydetermined and used to calculate the most favorable operations. Thisreal-time operation allows all components to be operated in acoordinated manner based on variables as received in real time orinstantaneously or nearly instantaneously.

The system 400 may be configured with devices to measure “HI” and/or“LOW” temperatures, density, pressure or flow rates. The use of suchinformation may be useful as an indication of whether use of additionalheat or a compressor in conjunction with the apparatus is necessary, oras an indication for determining whether the fluid flow rate should beincreased or decreased. Alternatively, the information could be used todetermine which fluid streams would create the most advantageoustemperature differentials for creating water vapor and decide where andwhen to recycle or dispose of each stream. The system 400 may also becoupled with heat, pressure, and liquid level safety shutdown devices,which may be accessible from remote locations, such as the industrialenergy or external heat source (not shown).

The SCADA system 402 may include a number of subsystems, includingmanual or electronic interfaces, such as a human-machine interface(HMI). The HMI may be used to provide process data to an operator, andas such, the operator may be able to interact with, monitor, and controlthe apparatus 400. In addition, the SCADA system 402 may include amaster or supervisory computer system such as, a server or networkedcomputer system, configured to gather and acquire system data, and tosend and receive control instructions, independent of human interactionsuch as real time, as described below. A communication device or port orremote terminal (“RT”) may also be operably connected with varioussensors. In an embodiment, the RT may be used to convert sensor data todigital data, and then transmit the digital data to the computer system.As such, there may be a communication connection between the supervisorysystem to the RT's. Programmable logic controllers (“PLC”) may also beused to create a favorable control system. In FIG. 8, the RT and PLCwould most likely, but would not necessarily, be located in theinterface terminal 406

Data acquisition of the system may be initiated at the RT and/or PLClevel, and may include, for example, gauges or meter readings such as,temperature, pressure, density, equipment status reports, etc., whichmay be communicated to the SCADA 402, as requested or required. Therequested and/or acquired data may then be compiled and formatted insuch a way that an operator using the HMI may be able to make commanddecisions to effectively run the apparatus or system 400 at greatefficiency and optimization. This compilation and formatting of data canbe used to enable real-time operations, as discussed below.

In an embodiment, all operations of the system 400 may be monitored viacontrol system 401 or in a control room within the operations section450. In an embodiment, the operations section 450 may be mounted on theneck of a trailer. Alternatively, or additionally, the system 400 can beoperable remotely and/or automatically.

In one embodiment, the entire operations section of the apparatus canfit on a mobile skid usable within the scope of the present disclosure.Specifically, all equipment including the SCADA control system 402 canbe located on a single skid such as, a mobile trailer or modified truck.

Various embodiments of system 400 can include various separators. Forexample, an initial two- or three-phase separator (If vapors need to beremoved) 420 is shown, which can be configured to receive an inputstream 404 (for example, a contaminated water stream) which can be at ahigh pressure through the use of pumps or pressure or gravity to createefficiency. The separator 420 can be used to receive one or more streams430 from the input stream 404 provided by source 435 to remove solidcontaminates, which is removed from the process using devices known inthe art such as, a dump valve 415.

Excess heat or multiple streams of water with differential temperaturescan be introduced into the heat exchanger 416 through inlet 481. Asdescribed above, in the heat exchanger, at least a portion of thepurified water is removed from the contaminated water. This removal isdone in the heat exchanger by using density differences between thepurified water vapor created and the heavier contaminated fluid. FIG. 8shows a first contaminated fluid exit stream 470 and a secondcontaminated fluid exit stream 471 exiting heat exchanger 416 throughoutlets 491 and 493 respectively. The contaminated fluid streams 470 and471 that exit outlets 491 and 493 are then combined with contaminatedfluid line 480. Alternatively, valves or similar devices 560 can recyclethe contaminated water through the line heater 460 and/or heat exchanger416 to obtain favorable operating conditions through heat exchanger 416.Using a plurality of flow paths and/or internal condensation sections,the purified water is removed using a first purified water dischargestream 473 through outlet 490 and a second purified water dischargestream 446 through outlet 494.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the first purified water dischargestream 473 through outlet 490 is sent to purified combined line 485.Valves 560 control the flow direction of first purified water dischargestream 473 and whether first purified water flow stream is recycled 474through the heat exchanger 416 through inlet 481 to transfer heat energyto heat exchanger 412 and then exits through outlet 495 as purifiedwater 447 through outlet 495. An additional or a plurality of recyclinglines, of at least two or more, can be engineered into the heatexchanger 412 and/or adding additional heat exchangers (not shown) thatcan be used in series or parallel. The additional recycling lines andheat exchangers permit additional recycling options and heat transferoptions. Persons skilled in the art, with the benefit of the disclosuresherein would know how to engineer the additional lines to achievefavorable results.

As discussed above, both the purified water streams and contaminatedwater streams can be recycled though the heat exchanger 416 to obtainfavorable conditions including water temperature differentials to createwater vapor. In addition, pressure differences of the water, or otherfluids flowing to and/or from the apparatus can be used to favorablymove the water and vapor with little or no use of pumps. Purified waterseparated from flow streams within the system 400 can be transportedand/or released from the heat exchanger 416 using one or a plurality ofmore purified water or vapor outlet ports such as, 490, 494 and 495 forexiting purified streams 473, 446 and 447 respectively. Similarly,purified water, stream 485 can be flowed into or from the system 400and/or otherwise controlled using a water valve or ports 560, andcontaminated fluid streams 480 can be flowed into or from the system 400using one or a plurality of valves or port 560. As described previously,both the contaminated streams and purified water streams can be flowedfrom the system 400 into tanks, header lines, sales lines, or similarvessels and/or conduits which are not shown but easily understood in theart.

An embodiment of the system 400 is also shown including a filter orsolid separator 431, such as, a sand separator, which can be used toseparate solids (e.g., sand and/or other entrained particles) from oneor more flow streams within the system 400. Separated sand and/or othersolids and/or slurries can be removed from the system via an exit suchas, a dump port 426 and sent to contaminated stream 480. In thisembodiment, solids are removed before the fluids are subject to heatenergy to efficiently use the heat energy to create vapor.

In FIG. 8, a fluid purification apparatus is shown including a lineheater 460, usable to heat flow streams received from the firstthree-phase separator 420 and/or other recycled streams within thesystem 400, and a purified water and waste fluid discharges and relatedequipment for use of processing, measuring, and removing from theapparatus one or more flow streams.

It should be understood that the depicted embodiment is merelyexemplary, and that various types and quantities of separators and othercomponents can be connected, as needed, to effectively separate andprocess a desired input stream, and provided with any manner of gaugesand/or other measurement devices.

Synergy with Alternative Energy Sources:

Many alternative energy sources have the problem of not providingconsistent energy production or the ability to manage energy productionefficiently. This process, using a control system or the SCADA systemdescribed above can fix the problem by providing efficient energyproduction by combining the water generation with other alternativeenergies. For example, wind power only provides power during significantwind and solar power provides only energy during sunlight.

Combining the water production during excess power or heat consumptionusing alternative energy such, as wind, solar, geothermal,hydroelectric, wave energy, or battery or other heat or energy storagesystems, could make alternative energy more cost effective with otherenergy sources.

Single-Skid Embodiment

In one embodiment, at least one separator, heat source, such as, excessheat, line heater, heat exchangers, and all conduits necessary tointerconnect these components, as well as each of the external valvesand/or ports that provide discharge of waste fluid 480 and removal ofpurified water (485, 446, and 447), can be provided on a single mobilemember 450, such as, a movable trailer. SCADA monitoring devices such assensors, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, and 412 are also shown in associationwith various system components; however, control and/or monitoringdevices can be provided in association with any portion of the system400 and can be controlled on-site, such as through use of controlswithin the operations section 450. In FIG. 8, the controls are shown asa remote computer 401 but can be a cabin area within the movable trailerhaving solar panels thereon, remotely (such as, cellular or internetinterface), and/or automatically, such as through use of automatedcontrols that operate responsive to predetermined conditions, coupledwith emergency systems to automatically cease operation of certaincomponents if needed.

Embodiments disclosed herein thereby include systems and methods forperforming a purification process, that require only a single mobilemember, having most or all the equipment necessary for the separationprocess operably interconnected upon arrival. As such, assembly orrig-up and disassembly or de-rig times for the present system can be farless than conventional systems, which can require a full day or longerto assemble. Embodiments described herein can be assembled and used in50%, 75%, and 90% less time than that required to rig up a conventionalsystem. Further, the transportation time and costs associated with asingle-skid unit are drastically reduced when compared with thoseassociated with conventional fluid purification systems.

Drilling Embodiment:

In one embodiment, the apparatus and method can be used on an oil andgas well site, or even geothermal sites. The energy source can be heatgenerated by flare gas or heat energy from wellbore operations such as,steam and gravity assisted operations. Using this system, waterintensive operations such as, fracking, Steam and Gravity Drainage(SAGD), and water flooding can use the process to use contaminated waterwith the additional benefit of having purified water as a product.

Modeling Embodiment:

In one embodiment the control system or SCADA system could be used torun fluid modeling on a water purification apparatus or even test amodel for changes or improvements in the system. This model couldinvolve several steps.

1) Run the system using normal operations or have SCADA recordoperational conditions during regular operations

2) Run fluid modeling and heat transfer modeling software to determinewhich designs works best.

3) Adjust parameters such as heat, pressure and throughput to achievethe best efficiencies.

4) Model various process using known adjustment variables to display thebest possible parameters for the entire process. For example, designscan be tweaked to adjust tubing sizes and openings.

Transportation Efficiency Embodiment

Embodiments disclosed herein may beneficially provide industrial heatprocesses, the ability to use a single-skid unit that does not require aseries of trailers or trucks to be connected on location. This providesa safer system by minimizing piping between high-pressure equipment.Additional benefits include: purified water and waste water may bereadily measured, and fluids may be separated more efficiently andaccurately. The single skid mobile unit may be cost-effectivelydeployed, and may provide all necessary unit operations to purify wateron a single unit, which provides an advantage over the use of multipleunits, skids or train of trucks at a work site. Reduced transportefficiencies including reduction in rail, water and truck traffic canreduce the costs of transportation including reduced energy includingfuel consumption, reduced accidental discharges, as well as reduced wearand tear on highways and local roads. In one embodiment, the entiresystem can be engineered to fit into a single container unit that can beeasily transported, via ship, rail, or truck. In another embodiment, theunit on a skid can be engineered to fit inside a container for quicktransport.

Additional Embodiments

As discussed above, embodiments disclosed herein can also provide forcontinuous, real-time monitoring, enabling efficient control of thepurification from an on-site location and/or a remote location. Thesystem can also be configured for autonomous, unmanned operation,providing a significant savings in cost and manpower. In anotherembodiment, the system can be coupled with electrical generators toprovide purified water in disaster relief operations, or militarypreparation where electricity and water is needed in emergency or remotesituations. In one embodiment, the generator can be on one mobile skidand attached to a second mobile skid to provide water purificationincluding pumps for pumping contaminated fluids and removing wastefluids and purified water. In addition, the mobile skid embodiment canbe brought to areas with severe water demand or water drought conditionsto help run industrial processes during peak demand or water scarcitytimes. Otherwise, human demand might override industrial water usage andrequire shutdown of industrial processes versus just adding a singletrailer or system to purify at least a portion of the water usage or allthe water usage depending on the situation. Therefore, this systemprovides capabilities not currently available for operators ofindustrial processes, drilling operations, military operations duringwater droughts, natural and man-made disasters and other emergencies.

Vapor-Compression Evaporation System:

Vapor-compression evaporation comprises an evaporation method. Theapparatus can comprise a blower, compressor or jet ejector utilized tocompress, and thus, increase the pressure of the vapor produced. Thepressure increase of the vapor also generates an increase in thecondensation temperature. The same vapor can serve as the heating mediumfor the liquid or solution being concentrated (“contaminated fluid” of“mother fluid”) from which the vapor was generated to begin with. If nocompression was provided, the vapor would be approximately the sametemperature as the boiling liquid/solution, and thus, no heat transfertakes place. If compression is performed by a mechanically drivencompressor or blower, this evaporation process is referred to as MVR(Mechanical Vapor Recompression) and if compression performed by highpressure motive steam ejectors, the process is sometimes calledThermo-compression or Steam Compression which requires the use of asteam ejector.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,708,665 and 7,251,944 describe vapor compressionextraction methods and systems. Both U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,708,665 and7,251,944 are hereby incorporated by reference.

The inventive concepts, discussed above, including but not limited tousing multiple flow paths to allow gravity to separate the purifiedvapor and/or using the internal components of a heat exchanger to servethe function as a flash chamber can be applied to vapor compressionssystems to produce water. A vapor-compression evaporation system,comprising a plurality of heat exchangers in series each containing afeed having a nonvolatile component; at least one heat exchangercomprising a plurality of flow paths wherein gravity differencesseparates the heavier contaminated fluid from the lighter purified watervapor; a mechanical compressor coupled to the last vessel in the seriesand operable to receive a vapor from the last vessel in the series; apump operable to deliver a cooling liquid to the mechanical compressor;a tank coupled to the mechanical compressor and operable to separateliquid and vapor received from the mechanical compressor; a plurality ofvessels inside respective vessels, the vessel in the first heatexchanger in the series operable to receive the vapor from the heatexchanger, at least some of the vapor condensing therein, whereby theheat of condensation provides the heat of evaporation to the first heatexchanger in the series; wherein at least some of the vapor inside thefirst vessel in the series is delivered to the heat exchanger in thenext vessel in the series, whereby the condensing, evaporating, anddelivering steps continue until the last vessel in the series isreached. In one embodiment, the system further comprises a multi-effector a multi-stage flash evaporator coupled to the last heat exchanger inthe series for additional evaporation of the feed or alternativelyinside the heat exchangers.

The foregoing description of preferred and other embodiments is notintended to limit or restrict the scope or applicability of theinventive concepts conceived of by the applicants. In exchange fordisclosing the inventive concepts contained herein, the applicantsdesire all patent rights afforded by the appended claims. Therefore, itis intended that the appended claims include all modifications andalterations to the full extent that they come within the scope of thefollowing claims or the equivalents thereof.

EXAMPLE

Hypothetical examples are disclosed below to illustrate the invention.Persons skilled in the art will recognize many different variations ofthese hypotheticals based on the disclosure in this document and knownprior art. All variations are intended to be within the scope of thisinvention. Therefore, the examples disclosed are not intended to limitthe scope of the claims.

FIG. 7 illustrates the steps of one embodiment. The first step is toobtain the apparatus 71. The apparatus has at least one inlet and atleast two outlets connected to an energy source that can concentrateenergy on a contaminated fluid. The second step is to flow thecontaminated fluid through the inlet into the apparatus 73. The thirdstep is to use the energy source on the contaminated fluid 75. Thiscauses at least a portion of the contaminated water to change into apurified vapor state inside the apparatus. The fourth step is to usemultiples flow paths inside the apparatus 77. The effects of gravityseparate at least a portion of the heavier contaminated fluid from thelighter purified vapor state. The fifth step is to remove the purifiedvapor and contaminated fluids 79. This step is accomplished by flowingthe purified vapor state through a first outlet and flowing thecontaminated fluid after a portion of fluid has been removed as apurified vapor state through a second outlet of the apparatus.

In this hypothetical example, salt water with 30 g/l of NaCl with aboiling point of 105° C. is pumped into the heat exchanger which isheated by excess gas from a heat recovery for steam generation system(“HRSG”). The heated gas is flowed in and out of the heat exchanger toprovide the energy to boil the salt water. The salt water is pumped intothe heat exchanger and is heated by the hot air gas from the HRSG. Oncethe salt water obtains a temperature of 105° C. the salt water begins toboil into a purified vapor or steam. The purified steam rises in theheat exchanger as it is lighter than the salt water. The slanted bafflesinside the heat exchanger cause the purified steam to collect inchambers formed by the slanted baffles. Pressure from additional steamcreation pushes the steam further up into the next chamber formed byanother slanted baffle.

Any heavier contaminated water caught in the vapor flows down throughthe hole back into the initial salt water feed stream. The water flowingdown has a separate flow path from the rising steam to reduce frictionand prevent contamination of the purified rising steam. The flowingwater also collects contaminates that has participated out from the saltwater. The salt water with the removed purified vapor component thenexits from the first outlet. This heated salt water with a higherconcentration of salt can be used to pre-warm feed salt water with apre-warmer heat exchanger before it enters the heat exchanger forpurification to increase efficiency.

After the purified steam has reached the maximum level in the heatexchanger it exits the heat exchanger. The purified steam can then beused for further work such as steam turbine generation or can be runthrough additional prior art heat exchangers to efficiently increaseheat energy and pressure to further add energy before using the steam.Alternatively, the vapor can be directly cooled and condensed into freshwater. To further improve the efficiency and lower the boilingtemperature a pump is connected to the second outlet which lowers thepressure in the upper part of the heat exchanger. Pumps pump out thepurified vapor creating a pressure less than 1 bar inside the heatexchanger which lowers the boiling point of the saltwater, reducesscaling and makes the process more efficient.

In a more preferred embodiment, the pressure is lower on the top of theheat exchanger to quickly remove the steam from the water. In addition,pump(s) can be attached to the first outlet to quickly pump the waterout. The best efficiencies occur when the pressure at the top of theheat exchanger is kept below atmospheric pressure of less than 1 bar andthe flow rate of the water is high enough to quickly remove water withhigher salt concentrations to prevent the boiling point from increasingtoo much because of the increased concentration of salt. This alsoreduces scaling. If scaling becomes a problem, purified water is runthrough the system to remove the contaminates and scaling. Runningpurified water allows the equipment to be cleaned of scaling withoutstopping the production of steam.

This invention can be used in just about any heat exchanger or similarapplication. Such applications include but are not limited to spaceheating, refrigeration, air conditioning, power plants, chemical plants,petrochemical plants, petroleum refineries, natural gas processing, andsewage treatment.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a. a waterdesalination apparatus, the water desalination apparatus comprising aninlet wherein water containing salts flows in the water desalinationapparatus through the inlet; b. at least two outlets on the waterdesalination apparatus, wherein a first outlet exits purified vapor anda second outlet wherein the water containing salts with a portionremoved as purified vapor exits the water desalination apparatus; c.solar energy that is connected to the water desalination equipment,wherein the solar energy causes the water containing salts in the waterdesalination apparatus to heat to a temperature wherein a portion of thewater containing salts is converted to purified vapor; d. at least twodifferent flow paths, a first flow path connecting at least one inlet tothe first outlet and a second flow path connecting the inlet to thesecond outlet, the first and second flow paths flow through at least aportion of the water desalination apparatus wherein density differencescauses the purified vapor to take a different path than the watercontaining salts with the purified vapor exiting the first outlet andthe water containing salts exiting the second outlet; and e. acondensation section comprising at least one flow path wherein thepurified vapor is condensed into purified water.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the water desalination apparatus comprises a heatexchanger in operative connection with the solar energy source, whereinthe solar energy source provides the heat energy for distilling andseparating salts from the water containing salts inside the heatexchanger.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising at least onesensor for determining saltwater concentration in the water containingsalts in the apparatus.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprisingpressure differences inside the desalination apparatus wherein pressuredifferences between the purified vapor and the water containing salts isutilized to separate the water containing salts from the purified vapor.5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus is on a single skid,wherein the single skid comprises a solar panel.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1 further comprising a membrane.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the purified vapor outlet is connected to a second device thatuses heat energy from the purified vapor.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1further comprising an additional flow path, wherein the additional flowpath is selected from valves, tubes, screens, perforated pipes orcombinations thereof.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the seconddevice is a heat exchanger that uses the heat energy from the purifiedvapor to pre-warm the feed water containing salts flowing into the waterdesalination apparatus.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprisinga conical section in a vertical run of the water desalination apparatus,wherein the conical section comprises a plurality of holes creatingmultiple flow paths.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising atleast one perforated pipe inside the water desalination apparatuscreating multiple flow zones inside the water desalination apparatus.12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising at least one sensor andat least one valve connected to a control panel for operating the waterdesalination apparatus.
 13. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the solarenergy source is from the solar panel on the skid.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 1 further comprising a filter for removing solids before thecontaminated fluid flows into the inlet.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1further comprising pumps attached to the first and second outlets.
 16. Amethod to purify fluid comprising; a. obtaining an apparatus with atleast one inlet and at least two outlets connected to a solar energysource, wherein the solar energy source can be concentrated onto thecontaminated fluid; b. flowing the contaminated fluid through the inletinto the apparatus; c. using the solar energy source on the contaminatedfluid inside the apparatus to cause at least a portion of thecontaminated fluid to change into purified vapor inside the apparatus;d. using at least two flow paths inside a distillation column inside theapparatus wherein density differences separates at least a portion ofthe contaminated fluid from the purified vapor; e. flowing the purifiedvapor through the first outlet and flowing the contaminated fluid aftera portion of fluid has been removed as the purified vapor through thesecond outlet of the apparatus; and f. condensing the purified vaporinto purified water.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the apparatus isa heat exchanger.
 18. The method of claim 16 further comprising usingthe purified vapor to pre-warm the contaminated fluid before flowingthrough the inlet into the apparatus.
 19. The method of claim 16 furthercomprising placing the apparatus at an oil and gas well site andpurifying water at the oil and gas wellsite.
 20. The method of claim 16further comprising using the purified water at the oil and gas wellsite.
 21. The method of claim 16 further comprising removing solidsbefore the contaminated fluid flows into the inlet.
 22. The method ofclaim 16 further comprising attaching pumps at the first and secondoutlets and pumping the contaminated fluid and purified vapor out of theapparatus.
 23. A solar desalination system comprising a. an inletwherein contaminated fluid flows in the apparatus through the inlet; b.at least two outlets wherein a first outlet exits purified vapor and asecond outlet wherein contaminated fluid with a portion removed aspurified vapor exits the apparatus; c. solar energy that causes thecontaminated fluid to heat to a temperature wherein a portion of thecontaminated fluid is converted to purified vapor; d. at least twodifferent flow paths, a first flow path connecting at least one inlet tothe first outlet and a second flow path connecting the inlet to thesecond outlet, the first and second flow paths flow through at least aportion of the apparatus wherein density differences causes purifiedvapor to take a different path than the contaminated fluid with thepurified vapor exiting the first outlet and the contaminated fluidexiting the second outlet; e. at least one sensor on the apparatus andat least one valve on the system; and f. at least one control panel usesthe at least one sensor and the at least one valve to operate theapparatus.
 24. A method for desalinating contaminated water at an oiland gas well site comprising: a. providing an apparatus at an oil andgas well site, the apparatus comprising: an inlet wherein thecontaminated water flows in the apparatus through the inlet; at leasttwo outlets wherein a first outlet exits purified vapor and a secondoutlet wherein a component of the contaminated water with a portionremoved as purified vapor exits the apparatus; an energy source thatcauses the contaminated water to heat to a temperature wherein a portionof the contaminated water is converted to purified vapor; b. flowingcontaminated water from an oil and gas well site through the inlet ofthe apparatus; c. heating the contaminated water using solar energy to atemperature wherein a portion of the contaminated water is converted toa purified vapor component inside the apparatus; d. separating thepurified vapor component of the contaminated water from the contaminatedwater component inside the apparatus by providing at least two differentflow paths connecting the inlet to the first outlet; e. exiting thepurified vapor component from the first outlet; f. exiting thecontaminated water with a portion removed as the purified vaporcomponent from the second outlet; and g. condensing the purified vaporcomponent into purified water.
 25. The method of claim 24, furthercomprising using the purified water at the oil and gas well site. 26.The method of claim 25, further comprising using density differences andalternative flow paths to separate the purified vapor component which isheavier than the contaminated water.
 27. The method of claim 24, furthercomprising using vapor compression for separating the purified vaporcomponent from the contaminated water.
 28. The method of claim 24,further comprising creating a pressure less than 1 bar inside theapparatus.
 29. The method of claim 24, further comprising using a heatexchanger to transfer heat energy from the solar energy to thecontaminated fluid and heat from the solar energy causes the watercontaining salts to distill and separate inside the heat exchanger. 30.An apparatus comprising: a. a water desalination apparatus, the waterdesalination apparatus comprising an inlet wherein water containingsalts flows in the water desalination apparatus through the inlet; b. atleast two outlets on the water desalination apparatus, wherein a firstoutlet exits purified vapor and a second outlet wherein the watercontaining salts with a portion removed as purified vapor exits thewater desalination apparatus; c. solar energy that causes the watercontaining salts in the water desalination apparatus to heat to atemperature wherein a portion of the water containing salts is convertedto purified vapor; d. at least two different flow paths, a first flowpath connecting at least one inlet to the first outlet and a second flowpath connecting the inlet to the second outlet, the first and secondflow paths flow through at least a portion of the water desalinationapparatus wherein density differences causes the purified vapor to takea different path than the water containing salts with the purified vaporexiting the first outlet and the water containing salts exiting thesecond outlet.
 31. The apparatus of claim 30 further comprising a steamgenerator connected to the first outlet.
 32. The apparatus of claim 30wherein the water desalination apparatus comprises a heat exchanger inoperative connection with the solar energy source, wherein the solarenergy source provides the heat energy for distilling and separatingsalts from the water containing salts inside the heat exchanger.
 33. Theapparatus of claim 32 further comprising a pump connected to the heatexchanger wherein the pump creates a pressure less than 1 bar inside theheat exchanger.
 34. The apparatus of claim 30 further comprising atleast one sensor on the water desalination apparatus, at least one valveconnected to the water desalination apparatus and on the system, and atleast one control panel wherein the control panel uses the at least onesensor and the at least one valve to operate the apparatus.
 35. Theapparatus of claim 30 further comprising a vapor compression evaporatorconnected to the heat exchanger.
 36. A method for removing salt fromwater comprising: a. providing an apparatus, the apparatus comprising:an inlet wherein the contaminated water flows in the apparatus throughthe inlet; at least two outlets wherein a first outlet exits purifiedvapor and a second outlet wherein a component of the contaminated waterwith a portion removed as purified vapor exits the apparatus; an energysource that causes the contaminated water to heat to a temperaturewherein a portion of the contaminated water is converted to purifiedvapor; b. flowing contaminated water through the inlet of the apparatus;c. heating the contaminated water using solar energy to a temperaturewherein a portion of the contaminated water is converted to a purifiedvapor component inside the apparatus; d. separating the purified vaporcomponent of the contaminated water from the contaminated watercomponent inside the apparatus by providing at least two different flowpaths connecting the inlet to the first outlet; e. exiting the purifiedvapor component from the first outlet; f. exiting the contaminated waterwith a portion removed as the purified vapor component from the secondoutlet.
 37. The method of claim 36 further comprising condensing thepurified vapor component into purified water.
 38. The method of claim 36further comprising using a heat exchanger to transfer heat energy fromthe solar energy to the contaminated fluid and heat from the solarenergy causes the water containing salts to distill and separate insidethe heat exchanger.
 39. The method of claim 38 further comprising usinga pump connected to the heat exchanger wherein the pump creates apressure less than 1 bar inside the heat exchanger.